This application is related to computer systems for processing information. Computer systems and their associated applications have advanced our ability to compute and transform data and thereby provide meaningful information about data that has been accumulated. We can also use applications to monitor processes as they occur, that is, in real time, and provide valuable information while data is being accumulated rather than waiting until after the data has been collected. Alerts can be provided in response to collected data. One example of an alert is performed by an electronic messaging application. When the messaging application detects that a message has been received, the application notifies the user about the message that has been received, such as by playing a sound, displaying a representation of the message or by automatically generating an electronic message. The user can then retrieve the message. Because of the alert, the user need not continuously check whether new messages have arrived.